Glowing Fire
by alyssabyss14
Summary: Naruto, a boxer struggling to make his ends meet takes a walk on a cold, dark, snowy winter night


It was a cold, winter's night. The snow softly sprinkled from the sky, and the streets gleamed brightly against the faint glow of streetlamps shining in the complete darkness. From the outside, you could see brightly lit houses with glowing fires, radiating warmth and giving a sense of security.

Naruto knew that it was a false comfort. He knew it better than anyone- there was no chance that any of the houses would actually welcome him with warm, caring arms; it would more likely be frigid and unwelcoming, and their minds would always hold irritation and annoyance. If Naruto was to knock on their door, the people in the house would forever deem themselves to be unfortunate, because the man seeking help had, out of all the houses on the street, decided to come into _their_ house.

The man, Naruto, sighed. He was 17, and desperately poor. He had just graduated, and had been kicked out of his grandparents' (Naruto's official guardians, as Naruto's parents were already dead) house for pursuing his dream, boxing. Naruto had been secretly training at a boxing gym all throughout high school, and was told that he had potential. Throughout his life, he had always been very careful of his body and fitness, training hard and eating healthy. Finally he was becoming a worthy athlete, and his dream was to become a boxing champion.

However, his grandfather disagreed with his dream completely. He thought of boxing as something filthy, a brawl people without intelligence participated in to make a living. No matter how much Naruto stressed that boxing was his dream, purpose, _life,_ his grandfather had just told him with pursed lips to get out of his house, until he would have something worthwhile to offer to the family.

Now, Naruto was barely getting by, living in a small apartment, calculating the cost of every piece of food he put in his mouth, and having the showers shut off on him every other day. Boxing did not make a lot of money, and he was aware of the fact. His survival depended on his skill, and that was the rush that made him train harder.

However, things did get very lonely. His friends had gone off to different universities, he did not talk to anyone during the training at the gym, and his only family, his grandparents, was completely out of the question.

Naruto's thin coat was coated with snow, and he sneezed softly. His hair now looked pure white instead of his golden blonde, and he started to shiver. He glanced inside the window again.

Several times, Naruto had thought about giving up. Giving up passion for money, determination for acceptance, and just going along with society and living a "normal" life. However, every time he thought of the fact, he always shook it out of his head. He was never going to give in to his father. Ever. Or society, for that matter. The rebellious streak also added to his motivation to box, and prove all of them wrong.

He remembered thinking once- what was the norm? What was considered normal in society, and why does it change year to year, heck, season to season? One time, as an experiment, Naruto had dyed his hair green, and told everyone interested to dye their hair green on different days. On Monday, when Naruto had walked in with his bright green hair, everyone had stared, given him odd looks, and had made fun of him. The next day, a boy named Kiba dyed his hair. He also attracted a lot of attention. So it went on, and a new person dyed their hair green every day. Soon, no one cared. Many people had green hair, and people that weren't even in on the experiment started dying their hair. No one said anything. That's when Naruto learned the most important rule of all time:

The Majority ALWAYS Wins.

When the majority is doing it, it's acceptable. Naruto remembered realizing that it applied to everything, and that individuality was slowly being taken away from the world.

_If boxing was the most popular and in demand job right now, I doubt you would have a problem with it, granddad. _Naruto thought bitterly, thinking back to the lectures from his grandfather about how doctors and lawyers were the most respectable and made the most money, and how those jobs was CERTAINLY the right thing and right path to take in life.

_Sorry for being such a disappointment,_ Naruto thought sarcastically, _But I'd rather be a alive, spirited boxer than a pathetic, depressed lawyer._ _You'll have to take me the way I am... but I guess not. _

Smiling half-heartedly, he looked up and shook his head, trying to get rid of the snow. Naruto was now shivering uncontrollably, and his lips were blue. He knelt down in the snow, and suddenly started to feel surprisingly weak. He looked down the street in front of him. The street was long and winding, and so dark that he could barely see anything.

To his left, he saw a house with a large family, lounging in the living room together, laughing together in the lively atmosphere. A bittersweet smile appearing, Naruto forcibly pulled himself up.

With a fleeting glance to his left, he started walking. Down the long,dark road.


End file.
